“The new print engine is on average five times faster than the old machine which has given us much more time to look at new products, approach new markets and broaden our customer base”

LED printer opens new markets for sign business

Owner partners Sylvia and Bill Islip of Trade & Discount Signs have run a wide format Agfa machine for over 6 years but having replaced it with the faster Anapurna H1650i LED, they’ve seen immediate benefits for their 30-year old business. Sylvia comments: “It may be the smallest Anapurna engine and great value for an industrial printer but it was still a considered investment for a business of our size. However, the benefits we’ve seen within the business already have been huge. The new print engine is on average five times faster than the old machine which has given us much more time to look at new products, approach new markets and broaden our customer base.” Further benefits included the energy savings made by the LED bulbs on the Anapurna and the vast improvement in quality, particularly when printing white on to a material. The company can now print to rigid media and the ink is fixed without having to laminate, massively reducing the production time and cost of materials. Sylvia and Bill were impressed that the machine now has small stirrers on each

Sylvia and Bill viewed alternatives when they decided to replace their wide format printer but concluded that Agfa’s Anapurna H1650i LED was a perfect entry level industrial machine at an affordable price point. At 1.65m wide, it is the smallest member of the Anapurna family, designed as an accessible hybrid printer sharing the same features and benefits of high quality imaging, ink-saving thin ink layer technology and perfect white ink printing reliability yet is less expensive and will fit into smaller spaces. It still features automatic head height measurement, crash prevention, an anti-static bar and air-cooled UV LED lights that allow printing on thin and thermal sensitive materials and is driven by the intuitive Asanti workflow.   “I was actually staggered at how smoothly the installation went,” concludes Sylvia. “We were up and running in just two days.”

ink tank (with back-up batteries should the electric cut out) which constantly stir the inks to stop the pigments congealing; while the Asanti workflow driving the machine, was very simple to use. Bill started producing golf signs and within four years was at the forefront in health & safety signage and his business grew with this new and buoyant market. In these early days the production process was very time consuming with the hand cutting of vinyl and overlaying. Today it’s a much more automated process but their experience over the years has meant that they’ve become experts in their field, quite often auditing local businesses to advise facility managers on their health & safety requirements.   Sylvia joined the business 10 years ago to bring marketing skills to the company and broaden its client base. They’ve had some success with temporary road signs and personalised signage within manufacturing businesses has been added to their product offering.  They are excited that the new Agfa press will help them fulfil other targeted areas that they didn’t have time to work on before.

From left: Kevin Harl from Litho Supplies, Sylvia and Bill Islip with the Anapurna

ISSUE 190 MARCH 2020     Sign Update 21

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